The Senate has fixed March 17, 2026, as the tentative date for the passage of President Bola Tinubu’s ₦58.47 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill as it steps up scrutiny of the proposal.
The timeline was approved on Friday during a special meeting of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, where lawmakers adopted a detailed schedule covering budget defence sessions, public engagement and final legislative action.
The decision comes days after the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, said consideration of the 2026 budget would take centre stage when plenary resumes, alongside proposed amendments to the country’s electoral laws.
Under the approved timetable, Senate standing committees are expected to begin reviewing budget estimates from February 2 to February 13, 2026.
A public hearing on the budget has been scheduled for February 9, as part of efforts to broaden stakeholder participation in the appropriation process.
Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, said the hearing would include expert analysis to guide lawmakers.
“The public session will feature a technical presentation by a professor of economics from the University of Lagos, Wasiu Adeoye, to support informed deliberations by members,” Adeola said.
He added that the committee would hold an interactive session with key members of the Federal Government’s economic team on March 5.
“Officials expected to appear before the committee include the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu,” Adeola stated.
According to him, reports from budget defence exercises conducted by the various standing committees are to be submitted between February 16 and 23, ahead of the presentation of the Appropriations Committee’s final report to the Senate.
Adeola disclosed that Senate leadership had initially proposed March 12 for the passage of the budget but extended the timeline by one week to allow for more thorough examination of the estimates.
“To enhance the quality of our review, hard copies of the 2026 budget have been printed and distributed to chairmen and members of the standing committees,” he said.
The timetable was adopted following a motion moved by Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) and seconded by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North).by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North).
